Shadow Children series 1. Preface

The Forum

Preface

_This story is dedicated to the 5 girls and one guy in the forum, they're this story's actual writters._

**Elosabeth's POV**

I was scared. I hadn't slept in 2 days. I was sure I would die. I was scared.

I knew my death would be painful.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel. There was no sunshine, No happiness. Just this evil life and death, to come to me, to hurt me.


	2. Chapter 1 Elisabeth

Elisabeth

The forum. A life line. None of us would be alive if not for the forum, and

. Head master of Hendrcks' School For Boys and Harlow School For Girls. Our own living life line.

**Elisabeth's POV**

They knocked on the door. Three large thuds. I leaned over to my sister, Katie, and whispered one word, the word that keeps us, and many, alive, _Hide. _

She ran out of the room and I got down on my hands and knees, crawling into the corner.

I heard my mom walk to the door, pausing before opening it. I heard her gasp though, obviously, she knew who would be there.

I knew my mom could compose herself quickly before they noticed anything.

_Yes, Officers?_

_Hello, Madam. We would like to do our annual population check._

I held my breath.

_Come in, Officers._

They stormed in, their large boots stomping loudly across our new floors. My mom loved those new floors because we couldn't get much fixed at our house.

I grabbed the keyboard off of the desk and typed _The Population Police are checking my house!_

They walked into the dining room then the kitchen. They paused at each cupboard door, opening and closing them. They continued into the living room then to the stairs. They climbed the stairs.

Every loud thud matched the loud thudding of my heart.

They started at my parents' room; the first room on this level. They walk in and out; a quick check.

They probably knew they weren't allowed to do his without a warren. So they were trying to get in and out fast before my mom could figure it out.

Next was my older sister's room, Katie was hiding there. I heard her hold her breath through the thin walls.

They went in and out, sigh of relief.

My turn.

They came into my other sister's room and walked, quickly, over to the desk and then over to the dresser, then they left.

They went back down the stairs, Thanked my mom and left.

I waited until the cruiser drove away before I came out of my spot in my sister's room.

I immediately went to my sister. We went down stairs and hugged my mom tightly. She kissed the top of our heads and we stood there, hugging, kissing, crying, glad to be together, safe.


	3. Chapter 2 AJ

AJ

The forum. What can I say? It kept us all safe in our darkest moments.

. An amazing man. Kind to all of us. Kept us safe. Gave us shelter and food. Something few other people were willing to do.

**AJ's POV**

I sat in the empty, dark computer lab, alone. I rarely felt alone. I had a family with five children (One older brother, one older sister, one twin brother, a younger sister, and, of course, myself) until I moved to Harlow/Hendrick's with my twin brother and younger sister.

Not much in the way of people changed. I went from a house with a grand total of 7 people to sharing a room with the same number of people.

As I thought through the story of my life a heard a soft ping. I turned back to the computer and saw that someone had posted on the forum. I brought the forum page up. The same blue outlines and pictures by the posts. I was expecting Emmi to have posted but it wasn't, it was someone new.

They obviously didn't know the rules because they hadn't posted the password. I, automatically, posted

_Who are you? What's the password? The one you can't see me type._

I then realized that they might be in danger and I typed

_Are they there now?_

They didn't respond so I typed

_Delete this site from your browser history, get off the computer & hide. Now. Fast._

They still didn't respond so I waited, anxiously, on the edge of my chair.

Many minutes passed and they still didn't post. The bell rang and, although I was worried I had to hurry to get to history.

I walked into history class and sat down quickly. passed out tests. I'd forgotten about the beginning-of-year-testing, to see what we know from last year.

**1 Hour Later**

I walked out of history before the bell rang. I knew the exact bell times now. It was helpful for making it to class on time and avoiding the rush of people from other classes.

I was glad the questions weren't too difficult, I hadn't studied.

I signed back into the chat room. That person had been posting me thank you's for the past hour. I wasn't sure if they were still on so I posted

_You're welcome. If I hadn't helped you, you would have die, I'm not like the PoPo I care. Anyway now that the danger is gone...what's your name and what is the password?_

_My name is Elisabeth Walters. The password is...FREE. _Okay so another girl joining this forum. There were already two girls on here(now three) Emmi and I.

I responded with _Welcome Elisabeth. Let's hear your story._

She went on with explaining her story. She had two older sisters and one twin sister, Katie. She was a fourth because, technically, her twin sister was older. She didn't have an ID. She was living somewhere nearby. And she was getting an ID and coming to Harlow ASAP(according to her mother).

_YAY! I can't wait until you get here! It'll be exciting to meet you. I can probably help you get around. _

_That'll be great! My mom said that a man named will be getting the ID...Do you know him?_

_Yeah. He works for the Population Police, sabotaging it from the inside. He is great. He will get you a good I.D., I'm sure. He got my family's I.D.s. (My twin, Sam, and my younger sister Kirstie.) You've heard of Jen, right? And Luke? And Nina? Right?_

_I've heard of Jen, She's amazing..my hero (but what Third wouldn't like Jen?). I've never heard of Luke or Nina. Who are they? Are they on our side or the PoPo's?_

_Mr. Talbot is Jen's step dad! Luke and Nina go to Harlow & Hendricks. They are thirds just like us. They are _definitely _on our side. Luke is kind of like Hendricks' leader. Nina was/is for Harlow. When she's not there I take over, I guess._

_That sounds cool! I'm so excited!_

The bell rang and I quickly typed _Anyway I have o go for study period. We have lots of tests this week. TTYL._

I logged off and ran down the hall. I got to study hall and opened my books, pretending to study, making plans.


	4. Chapter 3 Emmi

Emmi

The forum. Another reason to get up in the morning.

. He saved what I loved. He kept us safe. I owe him my life. We all do.

**Emmi's POV**

The light, that I hoped for, wasn't there when I woke up. It never was. I lived in the dark attic of my house. Alone.

I got up. I was kind of hungry but I ignored it and went onto the forum. I posted

_I'll be going to my ID parents house soon. I may not be able to post for a while but anyway, hey!_

I posted it then read the posts I had missed. Ooo! New person. No, new girl. Dang! I was kind of hopeing for a guy to spice things ever.

I then posted

_Oh BTW hey Elisabeth I'm Emmi. _

Aj continued my sentence with

_Emmi and I have been talking on here for a while. Oh and I'm AJ._

This new Elisabeth responded with

_Oh, Hi Emmi. Good to know your names. Do you go to Harlow?_

_No, I don't go to Harlow, yet. I'm hoping to be able to go to school there some day. Anyway I have to go and get some breakfast. Bye guys._

I logged off and stopped my feat on the floor. I then yelled _CAN I HAVE BREAKFAST!!??_

It sucked not being able to leave the attic.

A couple minutes later My sister came up with a bowl of gray, watered-down porridge. I was greatful for food so I ate it.

I finished and sat to read. That was my normal day. Reading.

**The next day**

My mom, dad, and sisters taped the box closed with as much tape as they could find. Dad placed the box carfully into the trunk of the car and, I think, got into the front.

We drove for, what seemed like, hours. We passed the sound off big cities. They started to thin out into what seemed like a suburban area then into rural. Cows mooed and that was all we heard. The occasional car passed but that was the only sounds of life I heard other than us.

We stopped on a dirt, or gravel, driveway. My dad's door opened and closed. I heard him walk towards the trunk and open the trunk. He took the box, me, out of the trunk and carefully carried me into a warmer area than outside. He set the box down and a knife cut into the box. I leaned away from it which was difficult in the small box. My dad opened the box. I eagerly climbed out and, instinctively, streached. I finished streaching and looked around.

My dad cleared his throat. _What do you think of your new home?_

I turned to him. _My...new home? You mean...I have to stay _here_?_

My dad hugged me. He held me away for a second to look at me. _Sweetie, you know thats the safest way._

_Okay I guess I have to. Bye dad. Love you._

_I love you too sweetie. Oh and be nice to these perents. They just lost their children and are being very genrous here._

_Alright dad. _

He left. I sat down in what looked like a living room and waited. They finally came home 2 or so hours later. I heard them walk in and I stood up from the couch and I walked into the front room/kitchen. They didn't look happy or excited to see me. I half waved and the lady said.

_Your room is upstairs. Dinner is at 7:00 tonight. Your expected to be in bed at 9:30. Don't go out of line. Pretty much everything that is a normal rule everywhere else is a normal rule here._

That was helpful. Not. I had never had _normal _rules. My bedroom was upstairs so the...attic. Again.

_Do you guys have a computer I can use?_

_Uhh...Sure. I'll bring one up to your room, Later. _She smiled at me. _But for now, Go up stairs and get used to your room. I'll call you when dinner's ready._

I scrambled up-stairs, like a good girl. I sat down on the cot. Their version of a bed. I looked around the room. It was more spacious than my other room. They seemed to store their unused books up here. That was good for me. I'd probably already read them all but reading was what I was used to so that didn't change too much.


	5. Chapter 4 Elisabeth

Elisabeth

What changed my life? Well, what changes the life of any Shadow child. Safety. A normal life. Harlow changed my life.

**Elisabeth's POV**

Harlow was my destination. My future. AJ and I had been planning what we could do so we could find each other at Harlow. I hadn't heard from Emmi in a while and I was starting to worry.

I was pacing through my sisters room cleaning what I could and packing the few belongings I owned.

My sisters, not caring that I was leaving, had not reacted at all like my mother who had been crying for the past day. It was obvious where I had gotten my sadness. Why I cryed over almost everything.

My ID father had gone out with my sister, who had gone only to skip school, to get my ID. He brought it back yesterday in the middle of the night.

The day after I got my ID I was on the computer reading through the posts on the forum when an add came up for a computer class. A technology class. I have always wanted to learn about something other than what had come up in books. I wasn't the computer type. I would like to know more about computers before I go to harlow maybe I can keep in contact with my family.

I ran down to my mom with the laptop and showed her the add. She was very hesitant at first but I used my fathers skills of pursuasion and she finally agreed. When dad got home he agreed right away. They signed me up for this class using my new ID and documents. I started that saturday.

**Saturday**

I walked into the class room. It was full of computers with names on the top of them. I walked through the many isles until i found my name. I sat down and looked at the names around me. I had a Mathew on the right of me and a Samantha on the left of me.

When the class had begun Samantha had never shown up.

We worked on, what Mathew called, basic computer paraphenalia. We learned how to use many M_acromedia _programs and how to firgure out someone's IP address in the first class.

By the end of the class we had to get into pairs. I ended up with Mathew. He knew so much about computers it was overwhelming. I wondered if he could hack the forum. I didn't think so. Even if he did he wouldn't understand much. As I went to more classes day after day I got to know Mathew better. We would hang out in the mall, where the meetings were held, when the classes ended early.

One of the days after the class we were hanging out in the food court. We were laughing and smiling. He said

_Yeah, It's not like those thirds. I feel so bad that they can't live a life. Aren't you happy we aren't thirds?_

And then, like that, it slipped out. I wasn't careful enough and it slipped out. I said

_Yeah...If only I wasn't._

_What? _He said. His face was a mask of confusion. I quikly realised what I had done.

_Uhh..Umm...Nothing! Nothing. _

_No, No you said "If only I wasn't". Does that mean...You are?_

_Uhh.....yeah....I...Am...a fourth. _

His eyes widened. _You mean that Thirds lead normals lives? That they...._I put my finger on his lips.

I looked around then turned to him, leaned in and whispered _If you want to be part of the secret you have to be quiet. You can't tell anyone. I'm trusting you with this. I trust you. Well...I also know that your computer smarts are probably enough that you could have figured it out yourself if I hadn't told you. _

He nodded and leaned back. _Okay. Your good. I'll keep your secret. _I leaned back and relaxed. He smiled. I smiled back. I reached for one of the fries we were sharing. They tasted so good. It wa amazing what I was missing out on without an ID! I looked at the clock in the corner of the food court.

_Oh my god! I totaly lost track of time! My mom is probably here by now. It was nice talking to you! Thank you so much! See you tomorrow. _I smiled _bye. _Then I walked away.

I smailed the whole way home. My mom noticed and said

_You seem happy, what's going on?_

_It...just a really good day! Life, for a thrid, couldn't be better than this._

We pulled into our driveway. I jumped out of the car and ran upstairs. I logged onto the computer.

_Hey guys! This day couldn't possibly go better. I have been going to this computer class for the past 3 days and I met this guy who sits besides me and I had fries afterward with him! They were amazing but thats not the point. He is...Such an amazing guy! He understands! It slipped out and he understands! It's an amazing feeling to be understood!_

**Okay so this is the untold story of the computer class and mathew...in the forum This never actually happened out loud...I made it up later in the forum and I figured it should be told in the story. Want to know what this forum actually is the link is: .net/topic/48632/7310520/1/ this is the section in the forum that this is based on the rest of the forum is just us talking!**


	6. Chapter 5 AJ

AJ

The turning point, what really changed my life, was when my brother and younger sister and two of my best friends were all in danger and it seemed like there was nothing I could do to help them.

**AJ's POV**

Was she going insane? Falling in love with a guy only to leave, go to Harlow, and never see him again!? I re-read the post to make sure I was reading it right. Yep, I was right, it basically said that she loves him and can't wait to see him again. And she told him?! No, the post says it slipped out! How could she be so irresponsible?!

I'd spent the morning freaking out over that post. I couldn't believe what she'd done. When she left to go for Harlow she would have to ssay goodbye to him and possibly break his heart!

After I read the post for the fifth time I posted:

_WHAT??!! Are you insane?! You can't tell him! You can't tell anyone! This is a sacred secret that only we can trust each other with!_

_But I trust him! _She posted

_No one can be trusted! _

_You trust Mr.H and ! How do we know that we can't trust them?_

I sighed. She had a point. I trusted Mr.H and with, almost litteraly, my life. How do I know that, at any, moment they won't report us?

_Thirds have been trusting them for years. You just met this guy._

_I guess your right but it's too late. It's not like I told him about you guys. Why are you worrying so much?_

_I'm worried about you!_

_That's nice but, I can take care of myslef._

_I'm not going to let this go! I worry about everyone on this forum! They're, almost, like family to me. _

I wasn't sure if I felt completely like they were family but, I wanted her to understand how dangerous this is.

_Fine, I'll give you that. If I don't post tonight you'll know somethign has gone wrong. If I die because I told this guy then I promise you that I'll always know that you were right. Happy?_

_No. That doesn't reasure me that you aren't going to die. Being right isn't my worry. My worry is that you will die! I'm really worried that you'll sign off and I'll never talk to you again! This is unbelievabley dangerous and I'm freaking out! _

_If being right isn't your worry then why don't you drop this?!_

_Because I'm trying to explain to you how dangerous this is!_

_I know how dangerous this is! I've known it's dangerous since it slipped out! I've been worrying too but I haven't let it get to me. Yesterday was still the best day of my life as it always will be! So drop it!_

_Fine! It's dropped!_

_Finally! Lol!_

_You're silly!_

_You too! XD!_

_XD!_

The conversation continued mostly in that manor. Althought we were "laughing" the tension from our conversation was still there. It, almost, blanketed the computer screen. Each post showing the remaining emotions.

After a while she signed off. I felt alone again. The bell rang and I headed out for history. We were going to get our tests back this week! I was kind of excited but I didn't really care. I knew I would pass.

**Alright...so the next chapter will be Emmi but it will probably be short because I was thinking about having a double elisabeth (2 elisabeth's in a row) but I firgured Emmi wanted a turn so I am going to have to keep her chapter short in order to tell other untold stories from elisabeth's POV!**


	7. Chapter 6 Elisabeth

Elisabeth

How could my life be any better? This moment I would never forget. I hugged everyone. Lily was hugging me as tightly as her little arms could hold me. She understood to an extent how important this day was.

**Elisabeth's POV**

I had been dancing around the house since yesterday and my mom and sister were starting to wonder what they were doing at these comouter classes. I went to the computer class the next day. This would be my last class because I was going to Harlow in 2 days and my mom wanted to have me home for the last couple of days. I would have to tell Mathew. I don't know how he'd react. Would he take it like he took me being a third child? Would he be surprised that I could go to school?

I walked into the mall. He was waiting for me by the bank machines. I walked up to him and he smiled. I smiled back. He put his arm around me and we walked to the class.

The class was normal. The teacher taught what Mathew called "easy". I didn't understand anything. Mathew helped me. We got free time. The class ended and Mathew and I headed down to the food court.

We scrapped together our money and got fries to share. We sat in the normal spot as the mall was completely empty. I reached for a fry. A good absent minded thing to do.

_I'm going to Harlow in 2 days. This'll be the last time I see you._

He stared at me. He blinked. He looked like he was going to cry. _Umm...I...umm...well...I hope you have fun. I hope you learn lot's and use your new cmputer skills. You are a very good friend to me. _

I looked up at him and smiled. _As are you. Thank you. _I looked at the clock. _My mom'll be here in a few minutes. I'll go wait for her by the door._

He stood up. _I'll walk you there. _We cleaned up and walked up to the door. He put his arm around my shoulder again. We waited between the two doors, where the pay-phones and the ATM's were. He stood beside me. We didn't talk. I spoke up.

_I'm going to miss you. A lot. _

_Me too. _

We stood, face-to-face, neither talking. I ddn't lookat him I looked down. I knew he was watching me. He lifted my chin. I looked at him. He quickly, carefully kissed my. Not long and passionate but it felt like he did mean it.

He pulled away and blushed. _Sorry. _

_No, it's okay. _I pulled his face to mine with both hands. We kissed passioately. It was amazing. It was like nothing I had ever felt. I had felt love. I had a family. But this love was not like that. It was different. It was satisfying. I don't think this was common for thirds. I felt bad for them. They were missing out.

This was like a silent exchange of overly passionate 'I love you's' and 'goodbye's'. It was too noticable, and probably inapropriat. I didn't hear my mom drive up. I didn't know she was there until she honked her horn. Mathew and I quickly let go of each other.

_What's your number?_

He told me his phone number. I quickly wrote it down, told him I'd call him before I left and ran out to my mom.

_Is _that _what;s been making you so happy lately? _

_Mom...that's the first time we've kissed. He's just a friend from the class. _

_Yeah...right. _

_Mom...I'm going to miss him. I'd like to see him once again before I leave. I'll call him tomorrow._

Mom sighed. _Okay. _I glanced at him once more before we drove away. He was standing strait up, looking down at the glaced our way once or twice. I waved at him before we drove away.

When we got home I ran upstairs. My mom went to my dad. I didn't care what she told him. I logged onto the forum.

_We kissed! We kissed! It was amazing! Passionate! He is...undescribable! Unpredictable! It's AMAZING!!_

**2 days later**

I had called Mathew. We planned to meet at the mall the day I was leaving for half an hour. My mom drove up to the mall I jumped out of the car and ran into the mall. I ran down to the food court. Mathew was waiting for me. He was sitting in our usual spot. It looked like he had been crying. I was surprised. I didn't think he thought of me that way already. I walked up to him. He looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. I sat down in my usual seat.

_I going to miss that. _He said.

_What?_

_How you smile._

_Is that all your miss?_

_No._

I kissed him.

_I'll miss that. Most of all. _

He kissed me. We kissed for a while. He started crying.

_You can't leave! Don't leave! Please! _

I conforted him. _I'm sorry. I have to! I have no choice I have to. It's not safe for me to stay. If I stay i will die. Sooner or later I will be caught._

_You'll have to get an email address...promise me you will._

I kissed his forhead. _I promise. I'll keep in contact with you. I have to go now._

We kissed more passionately than the first time. It was much better than last time. I loved it more than last time. I never want to leave him. I know I have to but I don't want to. If I didn't have to I wouldn't.

He gave me his email address and I left. I didn't wave. I now knew I would miss him just as much.

It wasn't my mother that picked me up. It was . He was, obviously, going to brng me to Harlow right away.

I looked out the car window. Never talkngi or looking at . When I started crying, which I knew I would, I didn't want him to see.

We arrived at Halow about 30 minutes later. I walked up the huge stone steps with . We walked into the administrative office. had to fill out a lot of papers but to my surprise he did it quite quickly. The lady at the desk gave me a map and time table. She wrote my room number on the top of the page. I shook 's hand (something my dad had taught me how to do).

I down to my dorm and sat on the bed that didn't look the slightest bit rumpled. I figured that one was mine. I sat down on it. The tears started to flow.

**A/N- okay so sorry I skipped emmi...I am going to stop putting who's POV the chapter is at the top...the chapter name is who's POV it is. For those who are confused. The begining thing like a preface it is setting everyone up for later in the story. I don't want to spiol it! COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT!!! please?**


	8. Chapter 7 Emmi

Emmi

The bast part of my Forum life was when The everyone came back. The danger seemed, momentarily, over.

* * *

What the h*** happened during the half week I almost begged for a computer. I had moved to my ID parents' house, Elisabeth had fallen in love with some guy and accidentally told him, AJ didn't seem too happy about that, And Elisabeth had gone to Harlow. Why couldn't I just go to Harlow like they magically seemed to do?

I had gone outside for some fresh air. I needed to escape my ID parents and the forum. I was standing in the fields amongst the tall grass. I watched the cows across the road. A car pulled into our driveway. I turned my head in that direction. Two Population Police officers got out of the car. I duccked into the grass. They walked to the door. Soon they were let in. I saw them as they passes windows on each floor. They checked the whole house then came out. They had taken longer than I'd expected. I ran into the house once they were out of sight. Just outside the door stood my ID mother. I slid to a stop in front of her. She leaned towards me and whispered:

_I think they've bugged the house. You'll have to be careful. Quiet. _

I nodded and we walked into the house I went upstairs to my computer. I typed:

_My _I then went to use the space bar and realized that it would probably make too much noise so I decided to use periods. _..'..I'.scared._

AJ signed in and answered me.

_I'll pray for you. I'm scared for you. _

_._

Elisabeth signed in a few minutes later.

_Hi...everyone...umm...I'm Katie, Elisabeth's sister. Elisabeth has gone to Harlow. She asked me to tell you guys the day she left. I'm very sorry Emmi. Elisabeth told me you guys were all really nice but that she couldn't promise everyone would be on this subject._

I didn't know what to say.

_Hi Katie. Yeah Elisabeth was right. So are you a third or a fourth or after. _I let out a quiet sigh when AJ posted for me.

_Yeah....it'...I'..bye._

_Bye Emmi! _Katie and Aj posted at the same time. I logged off and quietly went down-stairs. I went over to my ID parents who were watching TV. I sat next to them. I figured the TV would drown out our whispers. I leaned over and whispered to my ID mother:

_Are most of the bugs up-stairs?_

_Yes. _

I leaned back and watch the TV.

* * *

When my ID perents went to work it was the hardest. They would give me lots of food so I wouldn't have to go through the cupboards. I would take the food and go outside with them when they went to their car.

When they left I'd run into the fields and play outside.

I would run around and eat when I was hungry. Read when I was bored.

I saw the Population Police comeing down the road I ducked as they turned into my driveway. They walked strait into the house. They were going to de-bug it! I ran over to the abandoned shed to hide. I creaked open the door and there they were.

Six children. They all looked to be betwwen 5 and 7. They looked hungry and dirty. I took a step toward them. They all quivered farther back. I raised my hands and said:

_It's okay. I won't hurt you. Have food. Are you guys hungry? _

A young girl about 6 reluctantly shook her head yes. I reached a hand out to her. She didn't take it but she stepped closer to me. I lead them out and over to where my food and books were. I gave them each a little piece of my bread. They ate it up slowly probably to sacve it for as long as possible. We sat around my stuff, no one talking, until my ID parents came home. I ran over to them and the children followed.

_Look! Look! I found these children in the abandoned shed! _

My ID parents looked them over. They hid behind me and one of the boys who looked to be the oldest.

* * *

_No! Absolutly No!_

_Why not? They need a home. They need safety and a place to live!_

_We can't house and feed 7 children and ourselves! _

_They can sleep in my bed! I'll split my food with them! At least until we know what else we can do with them!_

_Fine but only until we know what to do with them. Go into the basement and grab a couple extra cots._

I went into the basement. The children, obviously trusting mr now, followed me. When they were all down the stairs I closed the big heavy door and went to find the cotts. When I found them I grabbed the whole box in case we needed more. I went over to the door and pushed on it as hard as I could. Nothing happened. I pushed again. Nothing. I put down the box and pushed my hardest. Still nothing. We were stuck.

_Great! _I sighed. I turned to the kids who all looked scared. _We're stuck._

A couple started crying but that boy who looked oldest comforted them. While he was doing that I set up the cots.

I got the kids onto the cot then went over to the door and banged as loud as I could. No one answered. I banged again. Still no answer. I gave up.

I paced in front of the children. I was freaking out. We had no food. We had nothing.

I went through boxes until I found an old portable computer.

I set it up and logged into the forum.

_Pain...Darkness...Eek! Spider!_

Elisabeth was obviously on because she automatically replied.

_Oh my god! Where are you? Are you okay?!_

_I'm in the basement typing on the tiniest laptop you've ever seen! It's really crowded!_

_Oh my god! Whats going on? Are you hurt?_

_No. I ws out in the fields and I came aacross these kids in our shed. They all seem to be between 5-7. I don't know their names._

_Oh! What's with the pain you were talking about?_

_The basement door is locked. I can barely breath. I need to get out!_

_Look for windows and find something to break them with._

I looked around and found some windows on the far wall I grabbed a metal bar out of one of the boxes. I broke the window then removed all of the extra broken glass around the frame.

_I found some windows! They're open!!_

_Great job now get the kids out!!_

I turned to the kids and explained to them what they had to do. I was able to shuffle two of them out but the other four didn't trust me. I showed them the computer. I told him everything was alright. I would get them food and fresh air but they had to trust me. They walked up to me and I shoved them out. When everyone was out I placed the computer out of the window and climbed out.

I lead the children to the front door which was hanging wide open. Weird. I walked in. The cupboards were hanging wide open and the place was a mess.

My ID parents had abandoned me. I was alone with 6 children.

I gave them some granola bars. They seemed so happy. I was amazed at how a couple of granola bars could make these kids so happy. Was it Thanks Giving?

I brought them up to my room. One of them layed down and fell strait asleep. One of them stepped forward. He cleared his throught. The first one to talk this whole time.

_Umm...I'm Caleb, I'm 7. This is Loralie she's 6. This is Gregory, he's ten, and Anita, she's 9. Aurther is the one who's asleep, he's 8. Aurther may have the flu. He's been pretty tired since we were with the Population Police._

I walked over to Aurther, who looked dead asleep, and placed my wrist on his forhead. He was very hot. He must be sick. Great!

Gregory kept playing with something in his pocket. He kept checking to see if it was still there. He watched me constantly. I was watching him but not as intensly.

That's when the comosion started. Gregory got up and knocked the computer out of my hand. Anita put Loralie in handcuffs, she started crying. Gregory was typing something on the computer that I couldn't see. I was afraid of what ever Gregory had in his pocket. I felt weak and useless being afraid of a 10 year old. I ddn't know what he could do. What could I do?

**A/N- Hehe...suspenseful paragraph...I also figured this was getting kinda long...Longest so far YES!! umm...what else can I say? Umm...check back soon? W.E. Please comment...it takes like two seconds! You could just say good chapter or I liked... or that you hated it...but If it's hated please tell me why!**


	9. Chapter 8 AJ

AJ

It was the most difficult decision I'd ever made. But I did it. I deleted my history so it would never be there. They would never have a memory of me and I couldn't remember them.

* * *

_**It's Gregory. Listen to me carefully and no one will get hurt. Don't blame the others it's just me.**_

_Continue..._

_**I work under-cover and so does Anita. I'm not going to tell you too much but I will tell you I'm not 10. What's in my pocket is not a tracker it's a pistol. I plan to use it soon if Loralie doesn't stop crying. Loralie is crying probably because their too tight. I knocked this computer out of that girl's hands. **_

_Wait...What's too tight?_

He didn't answer. I was getting worried for me own safety and Emmi's safety. Suddenly Emmi was the one typing.

_It's Emmi again. I have the Computer but not the pistol. Loralie is in hand cuffs Anita just slapped her. Aurther woke up..._

_So are they Population Police. Are you going to be safe? Am I?_

_Only Gregory and Anita are Population Police. I don't know If we're safe._

I didn't now what dangerous activities could be going on on the other end. I was scared. Elisabeth logged on and posted:

_Oh my god! I've just read what's happening. This is too scary. Are we safe here? We can't be posting here if it's unsafe!_

I posted:

_I know. Emmi hasn't posted in a while I wonder what's going on...She could be in grea danger. I hope something bad didn't happen!_

_Wow! Yeah!_

Emmi came back and I sighed.

_Okay. The link is locked so I'm pretty sure we're safe. I've been trying to bargain with Gregory but He won't listen. Loralie was...shot. I don't know or think it was fatal because she's unconcious._

_I hope Loralie is okay. Where are your Parents? _I posted.

_I don't know. While I was trapped in the basement they seemed to have left leaving quit the mess...I wonder if they locked us down there...There's no time for that now though. Gregory and Anita still aren't talking. Anita has the pistol. _

Elisabeth jumped in:

_Is there any place you can go so you're safer. To get away? I get that you're in the country but think hard._

_Umm...The shed! But I think it's too risky. What about food and what if gregory and Anita follow?_

_It's your best bet for now. Just grab Loralie and run for it. Does Anita have to pistol pionted at you?_

_No. Umm...she's just pointing it down. _

_Okay. Act fast. Grab loralie and Aurther and run!_

There ws a long pause. I couldn't expect Emmi to post as she ran but I was still worried.

_I'm typing while I run. Gunshot fields loralie blood. _There was another long pause. _I got in the shed. We are safer now. We are underground. Loralie got shot again. I'm going to start running beofore Greg or Anita catch up._

There was another pause. Pauses were the worst. I had no idea what was going on and it scared me.

_Okay. We've stopped I'm back. We've lost Greg and Anita. I layed Loralie down. She was bleeding at the shoulder and upper leg. Aurther was rubbng and scratching the walls. When I asked him what he was doing he said that there might be pipes behind the walls and if we broke them we'd have fresh water. I told him that even if we find a pipe the tunnel would flood and we wouldn't be able to break the pipe in the first place. Loralie was shaking momentarily. Her heart be is very faint. Very faint._

I almost started to cry. Poor Loralie.

_Oh no._

_* * *_

There was a soft ping in the middle of the night. I opened my portable computer.

_I don't know what time it is but I'm up. So it Aurther and Caleb. Loralie, we still don't know. I'm going to try to pick her up so we can get moving._

Elisabeth signed in and posted:

_Oh! this is so scary. I can't believe Loralie got shot again! Be safe._

_Okay so we are at this school. The tunnel lead us to the janitors closet of Morfow Middle School. I'm wpndering why a trail is under our shed and leads to some school. I'm looking through school records for some answers. Loraie has been talking in her sleep and stuff. It's kinda freaking me out. We are staying underground during the school day. I creapt upstairs during a school day one day and I just stood staring a coulerful bulliten board with signs saying "Try out for the school basketball team" or "Student of the month nomanees". It was like a whole different world. I was affraid for Loralie's life and these people were worried about basket ball teams. I couldn't comprehend..._

_I know. They don't seem to understand us. Our life. _I posted then sighed. Emmi was right. It wasn't fair that these people worried about basketball and being "Student of the month" while we were worrying about our lives and the lives of our friends.

* * *

No one's on the forum. I'm worried that something's happened to Emmi and the kids.

Recently Emmi's told us that they were showering and sleeping in the school after hours and hiding in the tunnels during the day.

I stood up and walked away from the computer. I was too worried to continue re-reading Emmi's posts. It made me sad. I was very worried that they had been caught. Maybe Gregory and Anita had caught up with them.

I couldn't wait any longer. I was going to Mr.H.

**A/N-Okay, sorry I took so long to update. I think this chapter might have a lot of repitition. Sorry. Umm...Review Please!**


	10. Chapter 9 Elisabeth

Elisabeth

AJ ran into the dorm and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me out of my chair.

I had been studying for the term finals. I had come to the school mid-term and I wasn't sure if they'd still test me.

_Where are we going? _I gasped.

AJ didn't answer but I figured out soon enough when we ran outside and towards ' cabin.

AJ suddenly stopped right outside the door.

_We're going to explain to Mr.H everything that's going on with Emmi and the kids. We have to help. We need his help._

I nodded and we walked in. We told him everything that had happened on the forum. AJ filled in what I had missed.

When AJ finished Mr.H sat silently with a calculating look on his face. He cleared his throat and said:

_I see what you mean. Here's my opinion: These children defiantly need our help but, how do you plan on finding them? We don't know where they are._ They_ don't know where they are._

AJ looked like she didn't have any ideas. I had an idea but I'd never talked to Mr.H without being talked to first.

I, sheepishly, cleared my throat.

_Umm...Mr.H...I have an Idea. _He nodded. _I was thinking, I have...computer smarts. With a little bit of your help we could use their computer waves to track them. I think they're very close. Wee just need a wave._

Mr.H sat with a thoughtful look on his face.

_That...might work. We'd need to be on the computer whenever they are. That's means we'd have to be at the computer all the time. But if we try, it may work. Great idea Elisabeth!_

I half smiled.

Mr.H brought us to his back room. He had a few extra tables and computers.

_If you set these up, we can use them. The computers are pretty new. They should get the signals. If we take your laptops and attach them, this just might work! _Mr.H wheeled out of the room. I turned to AJ and smiled.

_Well, let's get started._

_Wait, _AJ stopped me. _We should run this by Emmi first._

I nodded and took out my laptop. I logged onto the forum and typed:

_Emmi, are you on? I have a plan. We can track you guys and then find a way to get you guys here. What do you think?_

I waited. She didn't answer. I turned to AJ

_What time is it?_

_Umm...2 o'clock. Why?_

_I just figured that if school isn't over then they'd still be in the tunnel. Emmi doesn't post at night when they're in the school. I'm just worried._

_Wow. I never thought of that. Oh no._

I heard the ding from the computer. I opened up the computer and read Emmi's post.

_If there's any way that we can be found it'll help. I don't care as long as it's helping!_

_Thanks. We're going to set up and get started._

AJ and I took the computers and put them in the corner. Next we placed the tables in a semi-circle.

We set up the computers. We had two computers plus our laptop.

We started up the computers and Mr.H showed us how to set up the tracking devices.

The signal was surprisingly strong. Every time Emmi posted the signal would be slightly stronger but as her computer died the signal got worse.

** *

The next day I was sitting at the computers, waiting for Emmi to post. AJ had gone for classes-we took turns going to class.

The computer dinged. I read Emmi's post and started crying. It was so sad. Beyond sad.

_I try not to look at the power meter, but its running low. I turn it off anytime I can-but Loralie just complains on how it's too dark. I haven't had anything to eat for a while now...we found a small puddle, in which we drank water out of. It barely helped...but it was better than nothing._

_As far as I'm concerned we are alone in the tunnel. I haven't heard anything so far, just silence. Gregory and Anita are somewhere. I don't know where._

_I'm going to turn off the computer for as long as I can. I give daily updates._

_I've got to get moving._

I leaned up and replied. I couldn't see the keyboard through my tears, so I just put one word.

_Okay._

Mr.H came into the room and saw me crying. He knew that I cried a lot. He rolled up to me and said:

_Go to study group. I'll take over._

I signed the ASL sign for thank you, because I couldn't speak without crying harder, and walked out.

When I got to the study room, I sat down beside AJ. AJ took a piece of paper and wrote:

_**Anything new.**_

_**Yeah, Emmi's going to turn off the computer for as long as she can. She's going to give us daily updates.**_

AJ looked up at me. She saw a few tears stream down my cheek.

_**You okay? Is Emmi okay?**_

_**No.**_

Despite what I had written, I still nodded. I guess I was alright. This was all so sad though. It reminded me of...everything. Of the whole shadow child experience.

We didn't talk for the rest of the period. When class was over AJ turned to go to Mr.H's cabin and I turned in the opposite direction.

_Where are you going? We usually go to see Mr.H after class._

_I know but, I need a break. It's just getting so difficult to be around._

AJ nodded and I walked away.

When I got to my dorm I laid down in my bad and stared up at the ceiling.

I thought about my life before Harlow. I remembered always forgetting my real name. I remembered having a fit when my older sisters complained about homework while I was staying at home, hiding from the world I only knew from books. I remembered being smarter than my older sisters. I would help them with their homework. Once they made me do It and I found it tons of fun. My sisters thought I was crazy.

My dorm mates soon came in. I guess I had missed dinner.

I turned over and pretended to be asleep.

I never slept that night. Whenever I closed my eyes I saw the worse parts of my life. I saw my imagined pictures of Emmi and the kids and what they were going through.

I couldn't stay there. I got up and walked out.

**A/N-Did this take too long to post? How did I do? There may be less mistakes because the program I was. using didn't have spell check but I have word now and There's a lot less mistakes. **


	11. Chapter 10 Emmi

Emmi

_Shamira. _I whispered into the darkness of the tunnel.

No one answered.

_Shamira._ I spoke out.

Still no answer.

_SHAMIRA! SHAMIRA!! SHAMIRA!!! _I screamed repeatedly.

No one answered. There was no more Shamira any more. Only Emmi. The lively soul that had once been Shamira was beaten down to what was now Emmi. This was not the life I had asked for. This was not how I imagined my life. I never wished my life was horrible.

I looked back at the children who were sleeping peacefully on the cold hard floor. All but Loralie who tossed and turned in her sleep, as usual. Wow! My life was pathetic. I was starving. My stomach growled constantly to remind me, and I was dehidrated. I had nowhere to call "home" and I was running away, underground, with three kids I knew little about, one just happened to have been shot in my care.

If I was starving the children were definatly starving. Loralie's wound was probably infected. We had to get moving. We had to find proper shelter that, hopefully, had food, medical suplies and several other things we definatly needed now.

I grabbed Loralie and woke up Arthur and Caleb. We slowly got moving. I had to tell them there would be food soon if we got moving. So we walked until our legs couldn't carry us anymore. We slept for a few hours before I heard noises and decided to get moving.

At long last we came to another door. We climbed the stairs and opened the door. I carefully peaked in. It looked empty, but not abandoned. The house was fully furnished, from what I could see.

_Hello? Hello, is anyone here? We need some help! _I called out hoping the people who lived here had thirds and understood. No one answered so I walked in slowly. I told the kids to stay until I told them to come.

I walked around every corner like someone would shoot me if I was seen, though that could happen. When I found the house was empty, I started looking around for food and found at least 20 or 30 fake ID's. This looked like some kinda third safe house. It seemed safe...ish. I wasn't sure if I could trust it but it was all we had, so we took it.

I found some stale cookies and gave them to the kids, I figured suger would keep them full for longer. I found gauze and antibiotics in the bathroom and treated Loralie's wound again. I layed her to sleep in a cot the I found in the cupboard-It turned out the place wasn't fully furnished. It wasn't even a full house. It was a one-room cabin. It was living room, dining room, kithchen, and bed room in one room and a closet of a bathroom.

I serached more of the cupboards and found some charging cords. I tried them out on the computer and one worked! I plugged in the computer and turned it on. I logged onto the forum and typed:

_I decided to get moving I couldn't sit and wait for...whatever was coming. We found another door. It opened into what seems to be a safe house. It has Fake ID's and Power cords and just about everything a third on the run would need! We've settled in, but not too settled in, in case we need to move. I'm so glad we've found this place. We did our best to match ID's to each other and one of the power cords fit the laptop. The children are tired and so am I. I'm going to get us to sleep._

With that I signed out. I was so tired I barely got the kids asleep before I colapsed on and empty space on the floor.

* * *

I woke up to gun-shots. I Woke up the kids an hustled them into the tunnel. I grabbed the computer and ran with the kids for a while. We atopped and waited for an hour. When no one came after us We slowly went back and carefully re-entered the house. It was empty and it looked like no one had been in, other than us.

This wasn't the safest place but was better than what we had before. We had to stay.

I logged into the forum.

_I have to get to you guys. How's the tracking going? _

No one answered, but no one was on, so I should expect it. Suddenly a post came up from an unfamiliar name.

_Hello? Is anyone here? Someone told me about this and I've been wanting to check it out but my parents have been really nervous lately._

AJ signed in and posted:

_Ok. We need details about you. Not everything, obviously, but we need to get more comfortable with you. How can we trust you?_

_I'm Anna. I'm 14. I'm not a third but a forth. My brother was a third, but he died at birth. I spend most of my time in the basement and rarely see the light of day. What else can I tell you?_

_Wow. I'm so sorry. I'm AJ. I'm a forth, with a fifth as a sister. You came at a...difficult time._

I decided to jump into this.

_Hi, Anna, I'm Emmi. I'm just a third, but boy have I got a story for you!_

_Hi, Emmi! Go ahead...stories are always good; especially new ones that I haven't heard/read fifty times..._

I told her the whole story, stopping often to make sure she was okay with hearing this all-but- happy story.

AJ Explained Harlow/Hendricks' and Luke/Lee, Nina, and Jen. She explained and . Soon Elisabeth logged in and posted:

_Hi, Anna, I'm Elisabeth. I'm a third, or a forth, take your pick. I'm at Harlow helping AJ track Emmi and get her to Harlow as well. It's good to have you here. Have some extra hands on deck. _

_Hi Elisabeth, I'm Anna. Wow! I never realised there are so many shadow kids. It's like a whole other world! And I've been stuck in the basement since I was like 2!! My mom's been home schooling me sometimes with my brother and sister's old books. It's good to know there's a slight possibility of me ever getting real school! Do you guys know if the PoPo are on the move? My parents are really tense. I have to stay in the basement all the time. I can't even eat with my family!_

Elisabeth posted: _Wow! That is truly sad! But I'm sorry, no PoPo post here as far as I know so I can't track them. _

Anna posted: _Drat! I'm really nervous! Any ideas of distractions? I need something to keep myself busy. I don't feel like reading right now._

Elisabeth posted: _No affence but I think reading opens your mind! Even re-reading books you notice things you didn't the frist times. You connect with the characters. I read the same books for 8 years._

Anna posted: _Elisabeth, no offence taken. I just need a break from the same 15 books. What's your favourite book?_

AJ jumped in and posted: _I found the encyclopedia quite enjoyable._

Anna posted: _I hadn't thought of that. I think I saw our's in a box in the corner. I think I'm going to go find them!_

I finally found a chance to post. I wrote: _I've only read one book, "Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. I've read it like a billion times though. _Loralie woke up and started complaining that she was thirsty. _I got to go I'm goning to start making food for when te kids wake up. Be safe. Bye._

I signed off and went to get the kids something to eat. I firgured that everyone else had signed off when I didn't hear anymore _ding _sounds after awhile.

* * *

20 minutes later the kids were eating maceroni and cheese and I was trying to find any information on PoPo plans. Unfortunatly Wikipedia wasn't much help and nothing was coming up on Google.

Unfortunatly I ended up back on the forum re-reading posts.

Suddenly Elisabeth posted:

_Yes! I rock! I found you!! I found you!! *happy dance*_

Startled by this, I nearly threw the computer onto the floor.

_Wait you mean...you...found us?!_

_Yep! You guys are very close to us. I just saved your position and ours. _

_Sweet! I was just Googling PoPo plans but nothing came up. _

_As long as your on Google try Googling "Underground tunnels"._

I logged onto Google and typed in _"Underground tunels"_.

The results came back with plans for tunnels, pictures of tunnels...the list went on.

Elisabeth posted: _Anything?_

_There's a lot but I'll go through and see if I can find anything that can help us. I'm going to log off. The internet is slow around here and having too many web pages up slows it down even more._

_Alright. Be safe. Message if you find anything._

_Okay. Bye. _

And witht hat I signed off and began looking through the millions of results. Yay!

* * *

"Emmi? Emmi, wake up! Wake up your getting massage...things."

"Huh? When did I fall asleep?" I guess I had fallen asleep...great.

"I don't know...awhile ago."

I logged onto the forum and read what had been going on. Everyone was on and they seemed to be having a discussion about books and reading the same book a lot. Didn't seem very exciting but I found a place to jump in. I posted:

_I've only read one book, not that I can't read I just havn't had access to many books, anyway it was "Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. I've read it like a billion times._

Soon after the inevitable twilight talk. Any third who's parents get them good books has read Twilight. Oh, wait I guess almost ever teen-aged girl has read twilight.

When the Twilight talk was done Anna posted:

_Stupid Thanlsgiving. I swear it's literally going to kill me. We _had _to have the family over this year and, of course, they know nothing. So I've been behind boxes trying not to make a sound for the past three days. We've had a lot of close calls..._

**A/N-Oooo..bet you wanna know what happens...This is the best cliff hanger I could get for this chapter. When the real action starts be prepared for better cliff hangers (Maybe I can work out a litteral cliff hanger..maybe not)Sorry it took so long to post. I hope you're still out there reading this story. Anyway...**

**-Rose**


	12. Chapter 11 Anna

Anna

Laughter burst out from above me. _What are they laughing about now? I feel so left out! _

I hate Thanksgiving. Starting this year I hate it. We just have to have a good old family Thanksgiving. You know where _all _of you living family members come over for dinner(P.s. No one knows _I_ exist)? Yeah, that kind. But of course we're in the middle of _nowhere_ so they all now have to stay over meaning I'm not just stuck in the basement for one night, I'm stuck in the basement for three, or more, nights.

My aunt walks out of the basement and I swear she knows. I'm shaking, a lot. I reach for the computer and I have to try five times before I get it open. I misspell so much I just back space completely and start again. I finally type:

_I'm alive but that was a close call. I'm shaking so bad. I think she knows!_

Emmi types:

_What happened?_

I type what happens...

Ugh! I'm so bored! I lean back against the wall and stare at the boxes I'm trapped behind.

There is some creaking on the floor above me and the door to the basement cracks open. One of my fat aunts walks in and starts moving around boxes. I hold my breath as she walks closer and starts moving the boxes that are hiding me.

At this piont I want to scream and run away but I have to stay perfectly still and silent.

My aunt moves another box and I swear we're looking each other right in the eye.

Abruptly she stand erect and walks quickly out of the basement.

I know she knows.

I gasp as I let out my breath. My breathing is shaky and I'm shaking so hard. Did she see me?

* * *

_That's not good. Do you think your parents are going to get you a fake I.D.?_

_I don't know. I don't know! I don't know anymore! I'm just so scared!_

* * *

_My aunt is leaving soon. I'm so happy. But of course if she's not here she could be somewhere turning me in right? I hope not. _

_You need to get out of there ASAP! Check around in your basement see if there is a trap door._

_Nope no trap door. But there's a barn a little ways away that's been neglected for years should I check there?_

_Yes definetly!_

I closed the computer and went to the little window that's my only source of light. I opened it and climbed through the little hole. I ran as fast as I could towards the barn. I broke open the door and started searching around. Sure enough there it was. A trap door hidden under some old hay!

I ran back as fast as I could and typed:

_Okay I checked and there's a trap all right!_

_Good. Now is your computer portable?_

_Yeah. And I have extra batteries so it doesn't die._

_Great. How soon can you get to the tunnel?_

_Ten or fifteen minutes gotta check with my parents. _

I tiptoe upstairs and slip a red hankerchief under the door. I wait a few minutes and my mom opens the door. I peek out and she nods. I walk over to her and explain everything.

"Mom, I'm scared. I'm almost certain one of our family members knows. I've been on this forum and one girl suggested I use this underground tunnel to get to saftey. I don't want to leave but I'll be safer away from here."

My mom tells me she'll talk to my father. She walks out of the room. I hear my dad say something and hear my mom start sobbing. Soon after the sobbing is almost gone, almost. My mom and dad walk in together and my dad hugs me in one of those long sad hugs. I've never seen my dad cry but as I stood in his arms I could feel his body trembling with sobs. I never did see him cry. When he let me go I didn't look at his face, he handed me some power bars and walked out of the room.

I hugged my mother and said good bye. I said to her "If it ever becomes safe enough...I'll be back.".

At that I heard my father lose it. There was much loud sobbing, followed by a string of cuss words and more sobbing.

Tears were threatening to spill over. I turned and walked quickly out of the room, into the basement. I grabbed my laptop and climbed out the window. I ran out to the barn and opened the trap door. I climbed in quickly and closed the trap door. I started running away from the door as quickly as I could.

I didn't stop until I couldn't breath. I didn't look back. I tried to get the feeling of my father's sobs off my skin, The ring of my mother's cries out of my ears and the sight of it all out of my head. I close my eyes, I see my mother and father. My mom and dad. My mom and dad who I'll never see again. I can't do this.

I sink down to the ground. The computer makes a soft _ding_. I open it up and read:

_What did they say? Remember food, blankets and anything else._

I type:

_I've already left. I'm kinda stuck here. What's our plan?_

_Follow the tunnel where ever it leads. I'll go out the tunnel a few yards and stick a stick with a yellow cloth on it, if you see it you know your close._

_Alright, I start moving._

**A/N-Thanks for reading. Again sorry it took so long. I hope to get these coming more quickly but I can only work on these when I have time and ideas. R/R please!!!**


	13. Chapter 12 Emmi

The Forum

Chapter 12: Emmi

I closed the laptop and turned to the 3 small children in my care. I needed to place a marker out for Anna, the girl who may or may not be headed here. I didn't think it would work but i had to hope. If there were lessons on how to be a third, the number one lesson would be "never stop hoping". It would be that lesson the teachers drill into your head and never let you forget.

_Stay down and stay away from the windows. I'll be right back._

I walked into the kitchen and found a stick. I ripped a piece off of a yellow towel and tied it to the top. Then I headed into the tunnel. It was dark so I didn't go far. I took a few steps away from the hatch and shoved the sick into the cold, hard ground. When I let go it fell over so I just gave up and leaned it against the wall.

I went back into the house and signed onto the forum. Anna posted:

_Alright. I have a compass and am following the tunnel, going West._

I post:

_Is it dark?_

_The tunnel is. Outside the sun is beginning to set. _

_Same here. That's a good sign. We're in the same time zone!! _

_It looks like my tunnel's going to turn NE ahead.. I need a short break, but I'll be moving again in 5 minutes._

I'm suddenly curious, so I post:

_How was your mom when you told her?_

_It took her awhile to think through it, but she eventually agreed. They knew there wasn't much else that could be done. Has the school ever been raided?_

_I don't know you'll have to ask A.J. or Elizabeth._

Elizabeth signed on and posted:

_It hasn't since I've been here. It does get raided sometimes. The other girls have told me stories. From what I've heard about the raids no one has been killed or caught in years. We are very careful here.  
This is really exciting that you guys are going to be safer when you guys are together.  
I have recently been working on the tracking and Anna was way easier to track. She is much closer to us. You guys are very close. (If my tracking is right, I think it is)  
_

_Maybe I __will__ look into that fake id. I think I see something in the distance.._

_Hey, Emmi didn't you say that there were fake id's at the place that you found? When you guys meet up, maybe you can see if any of them are close to her._

_I could try. The I.D.'s are mostly adults though. Hey Anna, how do feel about posing as Ischmak Konduri, a 26 year old?_

_Something tells me that that won't work especially as I would have difficulty pronouncing my own name...  
I'm getting a bit tired. I'll keep going for another half hour, then I need to eat something and rest my feet._

_I see something that looks like a stick. I'll keep going as I eat. Granola bar anyone? Wait, I take that back, these things are chewy enough to be ten years old. They probably are come to think of it.  
I think I found your sign!..stick..thing._

_You think?_

_I do! A stick with the branches cut off, about the length of a walking staff with a dirty yellow thing on it._

Rose posts:

_Ha-ha! My tracking skills are correct!! I knew you guys were really close._

_Ok, I've reached the sign, what do you want me to do now?_

I post:

_GO STRAIGHT AHEAD! You'll come up to a ladder leading to a door!_

A.J. posts:

_Boy have I missed a lot.  
And I have news for you guys, too.  
But before my news, to clear things up, Harlow has been raided once while I've been here. Nina was ratted out by Jason, escaped, and her whereabouts are currently "unknown" she's working for thirds somewhere. That's all I know.  
I would still get a fake I.D. That way we can enrol you at Harlow.  
Elisabeth, meeting tonight in the woods, 'Our spot'.  
_

Rose posts:

_I'll be there._

_I'm going to put the computer in my backpack, then climb up, that ladder is well camouflaged!_

A.J. posts:

_The signal won't be as strong, but go for it.  
I think the signals will be better when they are together._

I set Loralie, Caleb, and Arthur on one of the cots.

"Is she coming?" Arthur asked, curiously.

"Yes, she is." I respond. It would only be a few moments until she arrived. Flipping out the mini computer, I type:

_Are you close?_

Loralie's head jerked up. "Emmi, look!"

I walk over to the hatch and, fingers trembling, I lift up the hatch from the tunnel.

"Hello? Anna?"

Anna blinked in the sudden light. "Hello? Emmi?"

"Anna! You made it!" I said, gleefully, helping her up into the dimly lit room. As much as a formal greeting would've worked, I had to get down to business.

"A.J. is tracking us right now. Hopefully, she gets s good signal."

Loralie looked curiously at the newcomer.

"T-tracking?"

I tucked Loralie and the others in for the night and said that everything was alright, that I would explain things later.

Anna laughed slightly. "Thank you." she said. "You were there just when we needed it the most."

"So, tell me one thing, what state are we in?"

"Illinois." Anna replied. "My home state actually."

I'm shocked! "W-what? That's almost two states over! I came from Ohio!"

Anna looked shocked, too. 'You must have been walking for weeks!"

"I don't know how long I'd been walking. Those tunnels lead everywhere! it lead me to a school, then to here." I yawn. ""I say we call it a night. We can work things out in the morning."

"Works for me." Anna said. "I've had a day and a half." She put her pack down and pulled out her blankets.

Pulling herself into one cot, she laid her head down on the pillow.

"You can sleep on the cot right there." I said, pointing to the empty cot.

Slowly, drifting off to sleep I was unsure if it was safe to have Anna there but something inside me told me things were going to get better, really soon.

**A/N-I get it I didn't write for a long time. I still appreciate you reading this. The forum is in use once more!! I'm so happy. Happy belated 's Day!! R/R please!! Like I've said before it doesn't take much time! Even if you hate it!! R/R!!**


	14. Chapter 13 Elisabeth

Chapter 13

Elisabeth

_Shh...It's okay. _He said comfortingly. _You won't be hurting anymore._

_What do you call this? I can't believe you! Where is he? What did you do to him? Emmell? Emmell?_

Night time is never a favourite for any third child.

It is made infinitely worse when you are too afraid to talk to the other girls at all because of the need for secrecy.

I have the extra worry for all of my friends in the chat room. This does not help me sleep and especially does not help me in class. I am worried and tired the next morning, and with a lack of nutritional meals to add to the mix, I dread every second of class.

I can't wait until the afternoon when I get to skip class to track the other shadow girls.

Knowing that the girls were in Illinois will really give AJ and me the courage to zoom in a little more. That fear of losing our friends has always prevented us from doing that.

AJ and I now know that the signal is stronger, because the other two have their computers beside each other, which is also a courage booster.

AJ and I only go to two out of our four classes during the day, spending half the day working on tracking.

This means more work and studying so, I don't get to talk to AJ much, since we spend most of our tracking time hunched over computers.

I sign into the chat room and see a post by Emmi:

_Any updates so far?_

I quickly reply:

_Yeah, we are so close. You guys are close to us but we need to get closer...We are taking more time to work on the tracking from now until we find you guys._

Anna responded:

_Thank you again._ _And, good morning._

I am so happy to help any other shadow children, so I typed:

_No problem... glad to help._

The bell rings and I rush off to class.

I sit in Computer technologies, learning about Flash animation, something I'd already learned. So, I sign onto the chat room and see that AJ is also on.

_AJ, I'm so happy you're on... I haven't seen much of you lately and this is a great chance to talk._

Anna posts:

_Hi! Glad to know you're still among the living._

_No kidding! Man, it's hard pretending to be someone you're not_

_I bet. I'd imagine it's even worse than pretending you don't exist. _Anna replied.

_Yeah, it really is. And besides being among the living, I'm still among the shadows. My fake ID is really just another shadow._

Emmi signs on and jumps right into the conversation.

_What's been happening?_

AJ replies:

_Oh, just me wallowing in my misery._

Anna replies:

_Some days I really hate having to hide, thanks to the_ _stupid Population Police laws._

Having nothing to say, I sit back and read.

AJ: _So, how are you guys on supplies?_

Anna says: _Well, I have the supplies that I brought, plus Emmi's stash._

The rings and I log off and head down to Mr. Hendricks' cabin. He always has much better food than what they serve in the cafeteria (Yuck!), so I skip lunch. I log onto a computer, turning on the monitor of the tracking computer and logging onto the chat room on a different computer.

While I was off, near-by towns had been the topic of conversation.

I looked at the tracking system; it looked very similar to Google Maps. Emmi had posted:

_There is a long field of corn and a gravel road. This place is small, not many cars pass through here._

And Anna had post:

_The town I was thinking of should be due south of our current location. Now that I think about it, it _is _between here and my home. _

I look back on what we'd already tracked. We'd already found Anna's old house and, looking closer, sure enough there was a small town. Knowing that the girls are north of that town can really help us. We looked around and found several small dirt roads. We'd have to ask for a description of the house to narrow it down.

I quickly, and excitedly, type:

_What does the house look like? This is important because we may be close._

_We actually think we could've found you guys!_ AJ posts, soon after.

If we find them all those sleepless nights and all the extra homework would pay off. We could go on and on. We are so excited!

Anna quickly replied:

_It's a dark green house, rather small it might have had a porch at one time, but it's not there anymore. And there are cornfields._

Scanning the houses on the many roads, I make a mental checklist:

Okay so, dark green,...check. Corn field...check. Porch of some sort...

"Check!" I yelled out.

AJ ran over.

"What? What? What is it Elisabeth? Spill!

My hands shook as I pointed at the house.

"That's it," I whispered. "That's the house."

I looked up at AJ who had her hands over her mouth. She removed them and we both screamed:

"WE FOUND THE HOUSE!"

Mr. Hendricks wheeled over and smiled.

"Well done girls."

The phone rang in another room and Mr. Hendricks went to the phone.

In the other room I could hear him say:

"Oh. Alright, then. Yes, I'll send her over."

Confused, I looked over at AJ and she stared at the calendar with a sour look on her face.

"Elisabeth, it's Saturday. My "parents" are here to take me for the weekend. We have the right house and I don't want to go," AJ said. "I'll go pack a bag. I'll get on the chat at "home" if they have a computer. Bye." AJ hugged me, and then went over to Mr. Hendricks.

I was a little sad that AJ had to go. With a location in our hands, we would probably be moving in soon to get them here, and I didn't want her to miss it.

I watched AJ drive off in her, shiny, stretch limo and a tear rolled down my cheek.

I wiped my tear away and went to talk to Mr. Hendricks about getting Anna and Emmi and the children to Harlow and Hendricks'.

Life is worth so much more to me now that I have friends and an education. A purpose; to help save the other girls in the chat room. I now worried less about myself and more about my friends. I always missed her friends, I always worried about them. I am always ready to help them, in every way I can.

**A/N- Thanks again for reading. I, hopefully will be writing more chapters more often now that exciting things have happened in the forum. I really can't wait to share that part of the story with you guys but for now we'll both have to settle for the small previews at the top of almost every chapter. I would really like some reviews considering I'm not getting many. Thanks to all those who do R/R every time. Everything you guys say helps me improve my stories! I've been doing a lot of Emmi and Elisabeth chapters. If you guys would like more of another character, feel free to let me know! Thanks guy!**


	15. Chapter 14 Anna

Chapter 14 – Anna

_What do you know about the "liber"? _Her voice broke at the end as she was fighting back tears.

I was practically frozen in fear, though I wasn't about to admit that. I waited tensely for the officer to answer.

I was jumping up and down in excitement.

"They found us!" I told Emmi quietly, but excitedly.

Giddy in excitement, Emmi smiled brightly.

"I knew they would find us! Wait till I tell the kids!"

I noticed that Loralie, Caleb and Arthur were still asleep.

Staring out the window, I noticed petite little drops falling to the ground. The swirled around in little clumps and landing on the ground. It was snowing

I was ecstatic, but also nervous.

_What should we do about my aunt? I don't want to have a run-in with her... _I typed.

Elizabeth responded with a progress report.

_Mr. Hendricks says that we will wait until AJ is back to come and get you guys. We may have to wait even longer because the Population Police are planning a regular check-up, that kind of stuff is never good. _

_Anna has no id so we can't risk having her here. Also, leaving her alone is probably not a good idea, either. Once the Population Police have come and gone we will get you guys here and we will get Anna a fake id. Once that is over with Anna won't have to worry about her aunt._

I smiled at that.

_I can't wait!_

_Two weeks tops until we get you here._

I walked away from the computer to stare out the window at the snow.

Snow. How beautiful and carefree. It fell, swirling, spinning, dancing. It could laugh with its friends and was free to run in the fields.

I shook my head. How silly of me to want what snow had. Comparing myself to snow.

I walked back to the computer and typed:

_How far does the tunnel go?_

_Sorry we can't track underground, but between your place and Emmi's it is about 5Km._

I considered that, then how long it took me to walk to Emmi's.

_Really? It certainly didn't _feel_ that long. I was nervous though, and probably walked rather fast_

_It's kind of approximate, but still close considering the distance between your place and Emmi's. Also if the tunnel goes where I think it does..._

_I don't doubt it, _I typed. _Just surprised, that's all._

I looked out the window, snow lightly caked the ground and I wanted to dance in the falling snow.

Emmi popped in and typed:

_Wait. Hold up, Elisabeth. Where do you think the tunnel goes?_

Emmi and I stood side by side in the kitchen, just watching the forum. Emmi swallowed hard and I looked over at her. Her eyes skimmed the page, quickly reading recent posts. She reached out and typed:

_What state is Harlow in?_

I reached up and put my hand, comfortingly on her shoulder.

We waited tensely, for Elizabeth to reply.

_I think Harlow is in south Illinois. Somewhere kind of close. That would explain how we got a good signal. I'll ask Mr. Hendricks and let you guys know._

Emmi backed away from the counter, suddenly blazing mad. I didn't look up, my eyes locked on the computer, so I hardly noticed.

"I hate this! Not the tunnel thing, but just in general. I hate having to hide! I hate not having a birth certificate! I hate having to run away! And I hate changing my name!" She yelled and it startled me.

I looked up at her as she paused, a sad look on her face.

"Shamira...That's my real name." She nearly whispered

I cringed from the pain emanating from her. A pain we'd all felt, a pain that came when we thought of what we'd lost because of this.

"Shamira." I cringed. "That is a beautiful name.

"But moping about it won't help. Moping never helps."

"I know, I just get frustrated sometimes."

Elizabeth typed:

_Mine was Anne. Like 'Anne of Green Gables'."_

I thought of my own name, but remembered my mother's warning and didn't share it, yet, but I did type:

_We shouldn't have to live like this!_

Elizabeth posted:

_I agree Anna, this is wrong in so many ways. Some people just have no heart._

_So many children out there can live freely, while thousands of children have to live their lives in secrecy. I would sometimes get mad at my sisters when they would complain about homework and school. I would just attack them and start screaming at them. I mother always calmed me down. I love class and love learning. Sometimes she was learning something in class she already knew from encyclopaedias, but I never groaned or complained like my sisters did because every time I would learn something that my encyclopaedias didn't tell me. That is my favourite part of most days, that's what kept her from hurting herself. Everyday, I try not to think of the harder times, I don't want to think of myself as suicidal. It is for that reason that I don't tell anyone this. It is very hard for me to think about this._

Emmi typed:

_I understand how you felt. Did you tell anyone at all?_ _I mean, besides us?_

_I guess I told my sister. I really miss her. You don't know much you love someone until you can't be with them. _

I replied:

_Where is your sister now? Can you still talk to her via this chat room?_

Emmi posted:

_That can only depend on whether she knows the password._

I commented:

_True. Do you have any other ways of contacting her?_

Emmi turned to me.

"Honestly, if her sister cam on here, wouldn't you be a little suspicious? I mean, I know I wouldn't feel safe. Something could happen and we could all...Well, let's just say it wouldn't matter if I was Shamira or Emmi." She said, cringing when she said _"Shamira". "_Either that, or I just worry too much."

I felt stricken.

"You do have a point."

While I waited for Elizabeth to comment, I headed over to my cot. Loralie was sitting down against the wall, fiddling with a few of the things she had found in the cabinets. She looked up when she heard me comes over.

"Anna! Wanna see what I made?"

I grinned.

"Sure!"

I went over to where Loralie was playing and sat down next to her.

"It's a Frisbee, I think! See?"She held up a silver disc with wires hanging out the back. The disk had a black rod in the front of it.

I was slightly surprised but I smiled when I saw Loralie's smile.

"That's cool! How did you make it?"

Loralie looked at the object.

"Um, I didn't make it, I found it!" She said, pointing innocently to the cupboard

I nodded.

"And what else did you 'find' in there?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing, just this".

I nodded and smiled at Loralie. "So what are you going to do with your...Frisbee?"

"I was going to throw it but, when i tried to, it made a cackling sound from this thing." She said, putting her finger on the top of the black rod

"Really?" I asked, examining at the object in her hand. "Do you want show me how you were going to throw it?" I was curious as to what the object did.

"Okay!" Loralie said, getting up from the floor.

She stood behind a cot, holding the Frisbee in a solid aim position. Flinging her arm back, she tossed the Frisbee across the room.

I joined her. "Careful where you throw that" I said, a bit late.

"Oops," Loralie giggled, retrieving the Frisbee from across the room.

I headed over to the laptop and read the posts.

Elizabeth had posted:

_My sister has been on this forum in the past only one or two posts that was it._

_You'll never guess what I found, it appears the Population Police __are doing some type of research about our patterns (Where we go and what type of places we usually live in) it's very fascinating...that they know nothing about us._

I laughed.

"Funny really, they think they know so much when they really don't."

**A/N- HAHA Here I am! Attempting to be back but getting nowhere. I guess a 1,400 word chapter will just have to do. Sorry I didn't end this chapter on a super exciting note, this part of the story is certainly less exciting. There were a lot of things that I wanted to say in this chapter but I didn't chose the right POV to do it. Next up, AJ! For those of you who are reading this and want more, please be informed that I am already planning the next chapter. Thanks a bunches for reading! R/R!**

**~RoseMary Sullivan/Elizabeth Walters **


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Shadow Children series, Friendship, Hurt-Comfort